Cable Tv Descrambling

Cable TV Scrambling Theory

Download The Descrambler Project
Modifications & Troubleshooting Tips
Interference Filter Project
Sources to Purchase the Descrambler Project
Sources to Purchase the Filter Project
New Circuit For Cable Descrambling??
MagicBoxes New Design For Cable Descrambling

All projects presented at this web site

are for educational puposes only and not
to be used to defraud the cable company
or any other individuals. I am not
responsible for anyone building or using
any of the projects at this site.
Cable Tv Scrambling Theory

NTSC Format
Before we can discuss scrambling theory we must have an
understanding of the NTSC format. The standard in which the
U.S. uses to transmit a television signal. I have a file NTSC.ZIP
which is very informitive. Shown below is a simplified
composite video diagram of the NTSC signal.

As you can see the video portion of the signal is between

regular pulses. The high amplitude regular shaped pulses are
made up of several componets. The horizontal blanking pulse
is the widest part and is used to turn off the CRT during the
vertical retrace. This prevents the vertical retrace lines from
showing up on the screen. On top of the blanking pulse is the
horizontal-sync pulse. Its purpose is to synchronize the sweep
circuitry in the TV with the video signal. After the horizontal-
sync pulse's trailing edge and before the blanking pulse's
trailing edge is the color burst signal. This area is called the
"backporch". The color burst signal is a 3.58Mhz sinewave
that is used to synchronize the color circuitry in the TV. In a
standard picture signal there are 15,750 horizontal and 30
vertical frames per second. To understand the many methods
of scrambling it is important to remember that the horizontal
and vertical pulses and the color burst signal are used for
timing and are needed to reconstruct a TV picture. If any of
those signals are absent, distorted or changed in any way the
TV picture will not be synchronized. The picture will be
unwatchable. The picture will tear, roll, and the colors may be
incorrect and will appear like the picture at the beginning of
this page.
The audio in the NTSC format is frequency modulated on a 4.5
Mhz signal that is added to the composite video signal. The
audio portion of a TV works like a standard FM radio and
therefore the signal is similar.
Scrambling Techniques
There are a few key components that can be altered to cause
a picture to be unwatchable. These key componets are the
sync pulses, color burst signal and the video signal also the
audio signal can be modified to disable the audio portion.
Most scrambling today is done using a form of sync
suppresion.
Video Inversion
 One of the most simplest forms of scrambling is to reverse
the polarity of the video information. This may cause the TV
not to sync up and the picture will tear and roll. If the TV does
sync up then the picture will appear as a negative picture.
The dark areas will be light and light areas will be dark. The
colors will be reversed and cause faces to be blue and the sky
to be brown. Inverted video is very easy to fix; all that needs
to be done is to re-invert the video again. A slightly more
sophisticated version of this method is to invert the video at
different intervals during the frame. The picture would flicker
or have a superimposed pattern. Typically this method is not
used by itself because it is very easy to disable, it is usually
used with another form of scrambling.
Sine-Wave Scrambling
One way to alter the sync pulses is to add a sinewave to the
video signal. With this method a 15.75khz sinewave is added.
If the sinewave and the video signal is summed properly it is
posible for the sync pulse to reduce and the video signal to be
higher. As shown in the picture below, the sync pulse ids now
below the video signal. This will cause the sync circuits in the
TV not to function properly.

To unscramble the signal all you need to do is mix a sinewave

of the same type to the video signal and it will cancel out and
restore the video to normal. The sinewave is typicaly added to
the audio signal.
 Gated-Sync Scrambling
This method is very similar to the sinewave scrambling except
that a square wave is used to reduce the signal level of the
sync pulses. As you can see from the diagram a negative
pulse is added to the video signal so that the negative pulses
will reduce the level of the sync pulses below the video signal
information. The result is a scrambled picture because the TV
sync circuits cannot lock onto the sync signal.

To descramble a gated-sync method, a proper square wave

needs to be mixed to the scrambled signal and the sync
pulses will be restored to the orignal size. The most common
way for the cable company to provide the square wave is to
add it to the audio signal and then all you need to do is strip
it away. In the out band gated sync method the correcting
wave can be attached to any frequency that the cable can
handle. With this method the frequency would have to be
known and and then the correcting wave could be extracted.
Typical frequecys are 50MHz and any frequency between
90MHz and 114MHz.
SSAVI Scrambling
One of the most commonly used scrambling methods is the
SSAVI system. SSAVI stands for Scrambled Sync And Video
Inversion. This system has four modes of operation.

1. Suppressed Sync Pulses and Inverted Video

2. Suppressed Sync Pulses and Normal Video
3. Normal Sync Pulses and Inverted Video
4. Normal Sync and Normal Video ( not scrambled )

With this scrambling method the horizontal scan lines are

very important. Scan lines 0 to 9 are normal. Scan lines 10, 11
and 12 contain the subscribers code number. Line 13 is the
market code. If all codes match to what is stored in the on
board PROM then the unit will descramble the picture signal.
Scan lines 27 to 260 are scrambled. Scan lines 261. 262 and 0
to 26 are normal. scan line 20 is the key to the unit. It will
determine whether the frame has inverted video. Typically if
the video is normal then the first part of line 20 will be white
and the last part will be black. If the video is to be inverted
then line 20 will be all white.

Universal Descrambler Project

The universal descrambler originated from an article in Radio

Electronics magazine in May 1990. Its was written for
educational purposes only so that technical people could
understand cable TV scrambling techniques and how to
restore video sync signals.

Typically cable operaters scramble premium channels by

surppressing the sync pulses, which are used to to stablize
the the picture on the TV screen. If the pulses are
surppressed in any way the TV picture will tear and roll. The
methods used to scramble the picture is to alter the
amplitude of the sync pulse or cause it to be omited entirely
from the video signal. Occasionally the sync pulse amplitude
may be caused to vary at different times.

In order to view the scrambled picture, the sync pulse must

be reconstructed to its original amplitude. Some
descrambleing techniques utilize a key of some type to
reference and thereby restore the pulse to its original level.
This key or pilot signal can be an audio subcarrier of some
frequency that is a ratio of the horizontal sync frequency of
15.734 KHz.
Some systems have a digital signal that activates the
decoder. Other methods are the pilotless where horizontal
pulses are attached to the vertical sync which will lock the
horizontal frequency oscillator and reproduce the sync pulses.
All these methods thus far regenerate the horizonal sync
pulse by means of other timeing signals. The universal
descrambler doesn't use any of the methods discussed to
regenerate the sync pulses.

The universal descrambler utilizes the color burst signal,

which is present in all NTSC video signals ( 3.58 MHz ). This
signal is the key for regenerating all other timing signals to
produce a clear picture. The circuit uses a CD2240 CMOS LSI
( video sync generator ) to produce the vertical and horizontal
sync pulses.

If you decide to build one of these units and need help please
email me. I have collected many fixes for common problems
and have mods to improve the unit. Before building this unit,
you must make certain that you have a baseband video
source that is able to tune in the scrambled station. One such
source is the video output on the back of your VCR. Most of
the newer VCR's will not lock onto a scrambled station. It will
produce a blue screen on your TV, therefore you need to
obtain and older VCR that will allow you to view a scrambled
station or find another source for the baseband video.

Remember, this information is for educational purposes and it

is your responsibility to inform your cable company before
hooking this unit up to their system.
 Source Listing For Purchasing
The Kit

UPDATE 7/27/97 A SOURCE HAS BEEN

FOUND.
A company in Indiana sells this unit preassembled. They can
be contacted at R.C. Distributing P.O Box 552 South Bend ,IN
46624. Phone : 219-236-5776.
UPDATE 12/31/97 ANOTHER SOURCE HAS
BEEN FOUND.
Thanks to an email I received in response to my web site, I
was informed that North Coutry Radio sells the kit. They have
it listed at thier site as a Sync Regenarator. The web site is
http://www.northcountryradio.com
UPDATE 01/10/99 ANOTHER SOURCE HAS
BEEN FOUND.
Thanks to an email I received in response to my web site, I
was informed that Surplus Traders is liquidating whole units
and kits. You can find it listed near the end of thier site. The
web site is http://www.73.com/a/0249.shtml
UPDATE 01/30/99 ANOTHER SOURCE HAS
BEEN FOUND.
 Thanks to an email I received in response to my web site, I
was informed that A1 Electronic Parts is selling the kits.The
web site is http://www.a1parts.com

Modifications &
Troubleshooting
The following are modifications you can try to improve the
picture quality and operation of the descrambler. You should
try each individual mod and look for improvement. If there is
no improvement then remove the mod.
The first mod is the most important one. Place a momentary
switch on pin 10 of IC6 to gnd. By pushing the switch the
circuit will lock quickly. Then adjust the horizontal and
vertical to make the picture viewable.
To remove ripple in the picture adjust C32 and to fine tune
the tint adjust C24. Change C32 and C24 trimmer caps to
Radio Shack Part# 272-1340. They are more stable then some
of the trimmer caps supplied in the kits. Change R2 to 5k
ohms Radio Shack Part# 271-1314. Mount U2 and U11 off the
board and heat sink them to the case. Don't do this to the -5v
regulator. Ground the crystal case to C22 (gnd) with a low
wattage iron. Change C30 to 100pf and change C21 to 1uf.
You should have a 1.2volt input signal. To obtain this lift one
leg of R1. If this helps try a different value for R1 any where
from 75 to 600ohms. Changing R29 to 1.1k ohms may help the
IC3 CD4053 operation of the unit but it may also limit
C32 from adjusting the tint properly. The
Pin # Voltage / Freq. 3.58mhz reference oscillator circuit is the
1 .31 adj. R9 most important part of the project. If you
2 -.3 adj. R14 cannot get your unit to lock horizontally try
a different vaule for C23; 7pf to 12pf have
3 0 been tried. Also try C25 as 18pf or remove
4 0 it altogether. To fix tint problems try either
a higher value for C32 by placing a 32pf cap
5 0
in parallel or reduce the capacitance by
6 0 changing C30 from 56pf to 33pf. For
7 -4.9 incorrect color on negative video,
disconnect C17 from J1 and reconnect it to
8 0 pin 15 of IC2b
9 0
10 3.5 ->4 /16.29khz Voltages and
11 3.8 / 15.75khz
12 0 / 3.58mhz
Frequencies
13 .28
14 .28
15 .27 adj. R9
16 4.9
 IC6 CD4040
Pin # Voltage / Freq.
1 0
2 5.57
3 5.61
4 5.13
5 5.66
6 5.09 / 3.58mhz
7 5.93
8 0
9 6.93
10 4
11 .44
12 5
13 5.12
14 0
15 .02
16 11.21
 IC9 CD22402
Pin # Voltage / Freq.
1 0
2 2.08
3 0
4 4.52
5 4.46 / 16.29khz
6 2.27
7 4.17
8 4.81
9 4.64
10 4.82
11 3.89 / 15.75khz
12 0
13 3.62 / 14.55khz
14 3.19
15 0
16 4.76
17 4.43
18 0
19 4.82
20 4.75
21 0
22 0
23 1.82 / 502khz
24 4.82
 Transistors
No. Emitter Base Collector
Q1 -.01 -.01 -.01
Q2 0 .78 .15
Q3 0 .51 5.52
Q4 .44 1.02 11.2
 Q5 -.4 .27 4.63
Q6 .28 -.4 -4.96

The Descrambler Project

Download the File

Push the Button Now

Download the descrambler project file by pressing the button.
It contains the circuit diagram, parts list and foil pattern
along with helpful hints. You will need to unzip the file and
then print out the pages.

NEW DESIGN ON THE INTERNET FOR

DESCRAMBLING CABLE?
Thanks to an email I received, I was informed that there may
be a new circuit out there on the web in the form of a kit or
fully assembled. Its a whole new design that uses a pic
controller to provide all the timing signals. They have a parts
listing at their site and a schematic. They provide you with a
description of how it hooks up to a cable box and pricing info.
I am searching for info on this product. Please contact me if
you have dealt with the company; have either purchased the
product or built it. How did it work? All feedback will be
posted. Here is some info I received from email.
Randy I spend a little time looking at the diagram. Something
is quite cool, something is difficult to understand, or as I
believe is done in a "funny" way. Ok the input stage,
superclassic 733 unitary gain with the 2 output that will be
used later on for straight or reverse signal. There isn't
chroma regeneration with a PLL, there is a second 733
fetching some of the video signal and with a 2 taps filter (1
serial + 1 parallel) amplify the 3.58 MHz. At least I believe so,
without the values for the resonant circuit I can't really tell
but since there are trimming capacitors I believe that I'm
accurate here. Now the part that I don' understand. As I said
in my previous email I don't see how is possible to sync-up a
PIC with a 3.58 MHz signal. I was hoping that they may enter
the pre-scaler input of the built-in counter but actually they
don't. They just go into generic I/Os and I've to use the plural
here since they are using two of them !!!! I don't see the
reason. One possibility is that they use in a very ugly way the
color burst to start an interrupt and then a following chain of
events will generate at a fix delay the following sync. This is a
possibility but in this case they don't allow the repositioning
of the chroma if has been shifted. However in Europe I never
saw cases of shifted chroma, they need to have very cheap
descrambler when the cables companies buy millions of them
and they try to minimize unnecessary costs. I like the 4052
used for re-synthesize the correct TV waveform, it's pretty
elegant. What I don't like about the output stage is that we
have a signal here travelling quite a bit and there is basically
no amplification. I'm assuming the will be about 20% weaker
at the output. I believe that our PIC behave also as counter
and sample the video signal with the 2 comparators in order
to understand if the field is positive or negative and in case
issue the right binary code to the 4052 in order to delivery
the right polarity. I wish to know your point of view about this
analysis. Now I've a question, I wish to build the analog
decoder that you did. However seem to me that 99$ is a
steal . Do you know if is possible to find just the PCB? I saw to
potentiometers on the circuit. Do you need to tune them
often? This look quite ugly.

You get your own look at the circuit or contact the company
at http://www.connectrix.com.

MAGICBOXES DESIGN FOR

DESCRAMBLING CABLE
Another email sent, informed me that there is another site Magicboxes.com that
also sells a PIC controller descrambler. They allow you to download the PIC object
code and the circuit. Here is some info that was emailed to me by magicboxex on
how their circuit works.
The 393 fires on fast transitions - ie (sync rise and fall) When
the sync is rasied(supression) , the "transistion" occurs
earlier than normal sync. These signals are fed to the pic. The
pic is clocked at 20Mhz but slows its own clock speed 50Khz
by firing the zener (varactor) on the crystal. This allows me to
syncronize the pic clock with the horizontal blanking interval.
You will notice the pic is slowed down every 2-3 horizontal
syncs... This method allows for accurate syncronization to
about .25uS on the sync. The pic then creates a new sync, re-
inserts the colour burst, and will trigger a video invert if
needed. This keeps the cost down and the building easy. The
circuit is really plug and play - just turn the course varicap
adjustment until the picture is locked. (it will wave when not).
MUCH better quality than the universal (which I consider
 shit). ***This circuit never requires any tuning once initially
set.

Interference Filter for

Cable TV
There is a misconception on the internet that there is a
universal descrambler circuit that can be built with a handful
of parts at Radio Shack for $12.00. The circuit in question has
absolutely nothing to to with descrambling; it is simply a
notch filter to remove an interference signal that cable
companies put on a premium channel, thereby preventing the
viewer from watching the channel. Typicaly if a cable
company uses this method, of rendering the channel
unvieable, the picture will have black bars on it and the audio
has a bleeping noise. What the cable company has done is to
add an interference signal in between the audio and video
carrier signals for that channel and thereby causing the affect
mentioned. This is different from the normal descrambling
tecniques of suppressing the sync pulses which will cause the
picture to tear and roll. To make the picture viewable with an
interference signal you use a notch fiter. The circuit described
is such a filter and the parts can be obtained at a local Radio
Shack store. I have added a source listing to purchase the
filter also.

MATERIALS REQUIRED

• 1 - Radio Shack mini-box ( #270-235)

• 1 - 1/4 watt resistor, 2.2k-2.4k ohm (RS #271-1325)
• 1 - 75pf-100pf variable capacitor (Very hard to find)
• 2 - F61a chassis-type coaxial connectors (RS #278-212)
• 12 inches of - No. 12 solid copper wire
• 12 inches of - RG59 coaxial cable

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Bare a length of No. 12 gauge solid copper wire and twist
around a 3/8" nail or rod to form a coil of 9 turns. Elongate
coil to a length of 1 1/2" inches and form right angle bends on
each end.
2. Solder the varible capacitor to the coil. It doesn't matter
where you solder it, it still does the same job. The best place
for it is in the center with the adjustment screw facing
upward. Note: When it comes time to place coil in box, the
coil must be insulated from grounding. This can be done by
crazy- glueing a piece of rubber to the bottom of the box, and
 securing the coil to it.
3. Tap coil at points 2 1/2 turns from ends of coil and solder to
coaxial chassis connectors, bringing tap leads through holes
in chassis box. Use as little wire as possible.
4. Solder resistor to center of coil and ground other end of
resistor to chassis box, using solder lug and small screw.
Diagram: Your circut and design should look like this:

5. Drill a 1/2" diameter hold in mini-box cover to permit

adjustment of the variable capacitor from the outside. Inspect
the device for defects in workmanship and place cover on
mini-box. Tighten securely.
6. Place device in line with existing cable on either side of the
coverter box and connect to television set with the short
piece of RG59 coaxial cable. Set television set to unwatchable
channel.
7. Using a plastic screwdriver (non-metallic), adjust the
varible capacitor until picture tunes in.

Download the File

Push the Button Now

Download the the interference filter project file by pressing
the button. It contains the circuit diagram, parts list and
instructions.

Source Listing For Purchasing

The Filter Kit
Rainbow Kits 6227 Coffman Rd. Indianapolis,IN 46268 Tel:
317-291-7262 www.rainbowkits.com
 Video Media P.O. Box 93/6025 Margate,Fl. 33093-6025 Tel:
954-752-9202 www.tvfilter.com

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